NORFOLK, Va. — The guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd is now the second U.S. Navy warship to suffer a COVID-19 outbreak, while at sea.
The Everett, Washington-based Kidd has been operating in the Pacific, off Central America, conducting counter-drug operations.
The Associated Press reports that as of Tuesday, 63 percent of the 350-member crew has been tested for the coronavirus, and 64 of those sailors -- about one-fifth of the total crew -- have come back with positive test results.
One sailor was medically evacuated on April 22 after experiencing shortness of breath. Fifteen were transferred to another ship with a medical facility for closer observation of symptoms.
The Kidd's executive officer, Commander Matt Noland, posted on the ship's Facebook page: "The doctors on board are working tirelessly to not only test for new cases but to care for our positive cases. They are making real progress."
This, of course, follows the major outbreak on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, where 855 members of that ship's 4,800-member crew have tested positive, and one of them died.
Overall, the Navy reports that 26 of its 297 ships have had at least one sailor test positive. 1,659 members of the Navy's 339,000-member active-duty force have tested positive.
Virginia First District Representative Rob Wittman is the Ranking Member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. He says the Navy faces a real challenge.
"They operate in circumstances that people are in close quarters on board ships," he said. "Social distancing in many elements of operation, they are just not obtainable. So you have to look at both testing and personal protection equipment."
Wittman said strict protocols need to be put in place for the entire fleet on testing, monitoring, and quarantining if necessary to keep ships disease-free because they still have a job to do.
"It also cuts to the operational availability of that ship which is a big deal," said Wittman. "That's the captain's job, to keep that ship on station, fully mission capable."
On Tuesday afternoon, the Navy provided an update on the Kidd, saying the ship arrived at Naval Base San Diego to provide medical care for its sailors and to clean and disinfect the ship.
“Taking care of our Sailors and cleaning this ship is a team effort, and we’re fortunate that the partnership between the Navy and the city of San Diego is allowing us to focus on that mission,” said Vice Adm. Richard Brown in a news release.